Australian naval institute inc

The Australian Naval Institute was formed and incorporated in the ACT in 1975. The main objectives of the Institute are:

to encourage and promote the advancement of knowledge related to the Navy and maritime profession; and

to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas concerning subjects related to the Navy and the maritime profession.

The Institute is self-supporting and non-profit-making. Views and opinions expressed in the Institute's publications are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Institute or the Royal Australian Navy. The aim is to encourage discussion, dissemination of information, comment and opinion and the advancement of professional knowledge concerning naval and maritime matters.

The membership of the Institute is open to:

Regular Members. Regular membership is open to members of the RAN. RANR, RNZN, RNZNVR and persons who, having qualified for regular membership, subsequently leave the service.

Associate Members. Associate membership is open to people not qualified to be Regular Members, who profess an interest in the aims of the Institute.

Honorary Members. Honorary Membership is awarded to people who have made a distinguished contribution to the Navy, the maritime profession or the Institute.

FRIENDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN NAVAL INSTITUTE

The corporations listed below have demonstrated their support for the aims of the Institute by becoming Friends of the Australian Naval Institute. The Institute is grateful for their assistance.

The Journal of the Australian Naval Institute welcomes articles and letters on any subject of interest to the Naval and maritime professions. In general articles should be no longer than 5000 words and should conform to the AGPS Style Manual. Spelling will be in accordance with the Editor's copy of the Macquane Dictionary. Submission of a disk and hard copy is preferable. Enquiries, articles and letters may be directed to the Editor.

The position of President of the ANI has been somewhat unsettled this year, reflecting the substantial changes which the whole Defence Community is undergoing. Notwithstanding this I am very happy to hold the position and am leaking forward to the challenges that the next few months present. They could be the mosi important since the ANI's inception, as the Institute is currently lacing a serious position in relation to its future viability.

For some lime now the Journal has been the flagship of the Institute, but its production costs are very high Despite changes which have been made this year to minimise costs wherever possible it still represents the overwhelming bulk of the ANI annual expenditure, which leaves little lor other activities. Although it would appear that there is general satisfaction with the quality ol the Journal the opportunity cost its production represents is substantial: by putting so much into the Journal we forgo the ability to conduct many other activities. The question which we must face is how to continue to produce a publication of equal quality which does not cost nearly as much.

The Council is currently considering a number of alternatives. These revolve around essentially two alternatives; completely restructuring (he Journal so that its costs are reduced by an order of magnitude; or gain more income from the Journal so that it pays for itself. The first has obv ions consequences for the quality of the Journal while the second is difficult lor an organisation stalled entirely by volunteers. One proposal is that the production ol the Journal might he sub-contracted to a publisher who would generate his profit from selling advertising. The Council would retain editorial control, including a veto on advertising. The Journal could then be sold through commercial outlets, which would have a number of potential benefits: sales should generate a profit, but even if they did not the Journal would become self-funding: membership charges could be reduced: and we would have a wider exposure with the potential to attract additional members or contributors to the Journal.

If the costs of the journal are reduced then there would he scope to undertake more activities in pursuit of our anus I should add at this point that I do not believe there is any question over the Institutes goals of promoting ami providing a forum for discussing matters of interest to the naval and maritime professions. But there are other ways in which we can do this beside simply publishing a journal. For example, generating more activity at the local level in areas where there are concentrations of members, or reinv igorating the ANI Internet site. The latter is an initiative which I believe is important lor us to pursue in order to exploit a medium that has the fastest growth of any in the developed world. If the ANI is to remain relevant in the 21st century we must not only have a pertinent message, but it must be put forward in a manner which people will find engaging.

The issues being considered by the Council have far reaching implications for the Institute. Thus it is my intention that, once a preferred course of action has been decided upon, it will be put to the membership at an F.xtraordinary General Meeting. I would welcome any input that you. the Institute's members, might have.

Finally. I would like to express (he appreciation of the Council for the efforts of Vice Admiral Chris Barrie during his tenure as President of the Institute. Under his leadership a number of very positive steps were taken to put the management and operation of the Institute onto a stronger fooling. Our thanks also go to Rear Admiral Murray Forrest who stepped into the breach when Admiral Barrie had to relinquish the Presidency. We wish him well in his retirement.

Bill Dovers

My/September IW7

Journal of the Australian Naval Institute

From the Editor...

I he purpose of this Journal is primarily to provide tor the ANI a forum lor discussion of issues of interest to the naval anil maritime profession. Judging hy that criterion alone the Journal has not had the best of years. There has been very little discussion of contemporary issues and only a little more on historical matters. It is almost like Ihe early 1990s again: peace breaking out all over the world, no disagreement and JANI the fount of all wisdom!! However 1997 has seen a variety of matters which seem to be quite controversial: at least they are Ihe subject of much discussion over a brew. The report of the Defence Efficiency Review and the subsequent Defence Reform Program, changes to Ihe ADFs higher command arrangements and the as yet unreleased Strategic Review seem to be matters ol considerable importance for Ihe RAN. To say that there are many others is an understatement at least.

There are no doubt many reasons why little discussion of these matters has made its way into these pages. But ihe primary reason is, I think, technological. People do not send letters anymore. Written expression is only used for formal statement of ideas lor work or study. Instead, people now use electronic means to communicate: either e-mail or telephone. The result is that discussion of contemporary and/or controversial events occurs in a different medium, lor JANI this poses a considerable problem as it is a print based medium.

One possible solution is to say that as JANI is not fulfilling its primary purpose it should he scrapped completely. That would allow the ANI lo spend scarce resources on other more effective means of providing a discussion forum. But it would also ignore the achievements of the many who have contributed to the Journal over its lifetime Although JANI has not been able to engender discussion it has become a means of disseminating know ledge about the naval and maritime professions (another aim of the Institute). Although discussion may lake place in other media, the publication of papers such as the ANI Silver Medallion winning essays from the RAN Si.ill College is important lo give them a wider distribution so that they may form Ihe basis lor lurtliei Consideration.

Discussion ol contemporary issues is an important part of the ANTs aims. Thus a restructuring of the Journal to reduce expenditure and enable a discussion forum to be set up is important. The discussion forum could be Internet based hut could also include a wider range of talks and seminars, presently not possible because of the resources consumed by JANI.

\i ibis point ii should he noted that the paucity of contributions to the Journal on issues of current interest does noi reflect on those who have written letters and articles on other subjects. Despite the relative lack of material on current issues, there have been a high quality articles on various subjects and as argued on this page last month, historical as well as contemporary study is valuable.

This edition has two ANI Silver Medallion winning essays, a Peter Mitchell Prize winning essay, articles on seaman officer training, the RMA at sea. Very High Speed Vessels (VHSVl and the Corfu Channel Incident of lu47: all subjects which are of value, current and historical, to the naval and maritime professions. In particular the Corfu Chanel Incident and VHSV are worthy of study. The Corfu Cahnnel Incident illustrates, among other things, the dangers of constabulary naval operations and their requirement for a high level of operational competence, and VHSV have the potential to radically alter the conduct o I Warfare in the maritime environment as 30 knot frigates cannot protect 50+ knot cargo vessels.

Alastair Cooper

July/September IW7

Journal of the Australian Naval fnstttittt

1

ILLUMINATION ROUNDS

D

espite its title, this Journal is a surprising example of joint service thinking. The authors oi the major papers are frequently \inty officers, occasionally Air force officers and sometimes, are from overseas. Indeed the editor must be doing a lot ol coordination and deadline selling to get such a range of DOB-RAN writers!

But the curiosity of this journal is how infrequently the Voice of the middle-ranked sea-going RAN (or RNZN) officer is heard. 1 know that the sea-goers are hard worked, pre-occttpied with (heir day to day priorities of keeping the seas, leading their sailors and practicing warfighting at sea. But I also know that in these days of laptops, shipboard LANs and floppy discs, it is easier to write than ever before.

But what Should our sea-goers he writing about? They alter all are the ones who have no regular mail, feel OUl of touch and don't gel to see the latest of the professional magazines: no wonder they feel some one else should be doing the professional thinking and writing.

Well, sitting in Canberra, or in MHQ. we would love-to know your impressions of the navies of our friends ami allies - we can look up Jane's, but we don't know-how they are doing in fieeiwork or in RAS or in general seamanship. We would like to read about ports, merchant ships, the hassles of nav igating in the Gulf, the thrill of a search and rescue... And yes. I know your CO is sending off his Report of Proceedings, but those just aren't widely read and anyway, your view and your experiences may be quite different.

And your experiences may not just be another sea story, the things you see and do may have set you to thinking about the state of our reign, or of our economic strength, or of the tensions in the societies of our neighbours. An incident on a run ashore may highlight social issues that otherwise are just dry academic analysis.

No. I'm not suggesting ./AMI should be some kind of cross between an intelligence publication and a tabloid newspaper; tather I'm just trying to illuminate that the events during our ships' deployments undoubtedly cause you to think on the sights and sounds you experience, undoubtedly cause you to speculate and commentate on the places you've been Share those thoughts!

It's not impossible for the sensitive new age nineties Officer to put his or her thoughts in writing. There have been some good examples in ./.C\7. and the Army

and the RAAL have shown us how. Indeed, the Amiy (rumour has it) is set to monopolise the essay competition at the RAN Staff College - Army officers, it seems, ate willing to set their thoughts down on paper.

So let's hear from the Heel. What's really being talked about and discussed at the sharp end?

Some Mistake, Surely...

T

he following letter was sent from MM Submarine Salem in the kite 1940s in reply to a demand from Portsmouth Dockyard, together with a form D.78h. asking for the w hereabouts of a "Cutter. Sailing. 32 Loot', issued to Solent. Having first acknowledged the letter, the rest of the reply became a classic:

It is however, much regretted that a careful search ol HM Submarine under my command has failed to reveal any sign of Culler. 32 fool, serial number 832. much less its attendant bridles, steel wire. rope, slings, chains, steadying lines, chains or hook. Robinson's common pattern No. 4K. The absence according to the above mentioned form D.786 (in triplicate), ol any form of disengaging gear lor Cutter. 32 loot, serial number 832. is viewed with the utmost concern.

During the recent hostilities, with which youi department was doubtless closely concerned, it was not the normal practice oi submarines to carry such boats, but with the advent of peace it is fully appreciated that changes must be expected at any lime, and ol any dimensions; and it noted that the lvo.it in question constitutes first supply to (IMS Solent.

However, the fact that the only two dav its in the ship will not plumb the water, are tested to only 3<>cwi..are 110 feel apart and on opposite sides of the ship, would appear to present an obstacle ol almost insuperable proportions, and in view of this, it is requested that arrangements be made to cancel the supply of this boat.

It is suggested, without reflection on the efficiency ot your department, that the possibility ol Cutter 32 loot. Serial number 832 having been allocated to the wrong ship las yet on papei onlyi may profitably be investigated.

To obviate unnecessary inconvenience to, and correspondence with, your department, it is brought to